Unbeaten Somerset overpowers State College

October 06, 2003|By BRADLEY KEIM, Daily American Sports Writer

SOMERSET - Somerset's volleyball players overcame the loss of one of their big hitters Monday night to stop State College and stay unbeaten. Lady Golden Eagles won 25-15, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21 in front of a huge home crowd.

"That was by far the biggest volleyball crowd we've had here in my history," said head coach Ed Rose, who has been assistant or head coach for 12 seasons. "We had quite a crowd for JV and they all stayed."

The Lady Eagles (11-0) won after senior Jamie Papini went down with an injury during the opening game.

Somerset senior Emily Yaros said having a perfect record is "encouraging" as was continuing to play well after Papini's injury.

"We really pulled it together," she said, while looking ahead. "We know we still have a lot to work on and we're looking out for the tougher teams."

Papini's second kill gave Somerset an 11-4 lead but she apparently injured her knee on the play.

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Somerset trainers rolled Papini out of the gym with a wheelchair, but, during game two, brought her back with an ice pack on her knee.

Rose said his players showed their character by winning without Papini.

"When Jamie went down, I thought they would fold," he said.

Instead, they turned in their usual balanced performance.

Senior Amanda Angermeier led the attack with 15 kills and a pair of aces.

Senior Lorelle Marker made five blocks and seven kills.

Junior Calley Jano picked up 19 service points, 4 aces and 12 digs.

Yaros had 15 assists, 7 service points and 3 kills.

Junior Alicia Darr served for 12 points, including four aces.

Sophomore Alix Rose added 15 digs, 9 service points and 8 assists.

Junior Amber Kister made eight kills and two blocks.

The Eagles game-three loss was just their third this season. One was to State College's split squad during their St. Francis Tournament championship run and the other was to Windber.

Despite Monday's statistics and the Eagles record, Rose said he still hasn't seen his players put it all together.

"We haven't played our best game yet," he said.

State College coach Sarah Schall, who guides a young team which was led by one senior and a pair of sophomores Monday, said she was pleased with her players, even though they lost

"I'm not disappointed," Schall said. "Somerset's an extremely strong team and we fought hard."

Senior Julie Kim led the Little Lady Lions in assists, sophomore Sara Grove served for six aces and 6-foot-1 sophomore Kelsey Ream had 10 blocks and six kills.